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Difficulty: MediumSentence Fragments

Deep-sea hydrothermal vents support extraordinary ecosystems by releasing mineral-rich fluids into the ocean. Although these environments exist in complete darkness under crushing pressure. They host unique communities of tube worms, giant clams, and chemosynthetic bacteria.

Which of the following choices is the most grammatically correct option for the underlined portion?

  1. A
    NO CHANGE
  2. Although these environments exist in complete darkness under crushing pressure, theyAnswer
  3. C
    Although these environments exist in complete darkness under crushing pressure; they
  4. D
    These environments exist in complete darkness under crushing pressure, they

Answer

Although these environments exist in complete darkness under crushing pressure, they
The correct option connects the introductory dependent clause starting with 'Although' to the independent clause using a comma. This resolves the sentence fragment and creates a grammatically correct sentence.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the grammatical problem in the underlined portion.
The clause 'Although these environments exist in complete darkness under crushing pressure' begins with the subordinating conjunction 'Although' and lacks an independent main clause, making it a dependent clause fragment.
A dependent clause cannot stand alone as a complete sentence.
2
Evaluate the choices to find the one that correctly integrates the dependent clause.
The option that changes the period to a comma and adds the pronoun 'they' correctly joins the dependent clause to the subsequent independent clause.
Using a comma to connect an introductory dependent clause to an independent clause forms a grammatically correct complex sentence.
3
Rule out the remaining distractors.
The option using a semicolon is incorrect because a semicolon cannot connect a dependent clause to an independent clause. The option without 'Although' is a comma splice because it connects two independent clauses with only a comma.
Semicolons must separate two independent clauses, and independent clauses cannot be joined with just a comma.

Key Concept

Identifying and correcting sentence fragments by properly connecting dependent and independent clauses.
Estimated Time:1m 0s
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Topics

Sentence Fragments

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